Tale Of Two Brothers
by ZaneTheNinjaOfIce
Summary: After the catastrophe that had happened on Serpent Island, it all seemed to be in the past. But the past always has a way to catch up with whoever it belongs too, secrets don't stay buried forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers, I have a new story! This story is based off of a One-shot by NinjagoninjaKXGIRL called Tale of Two Brothers, I recommend reading her One-shot before you start reading this story because it would make much more sense. But unlike her story, all the characters are human, not snakes, as she says in the author's note at the end of her story.**

**Check out her account, she is an amazing author!**

**Cole's POV**

Who would have thought I would see my family again.

Well, what was left of it...

Of course I had Lou Hence, my adoptive father.

He was the closest thing I had to family, until I became a ninja and found a place with my team: Kai, Jay, Zane and Lloyd.

But this was about real family.

Flesh and blood family.

My brother and sister.

I had only been young when I had ran away from home.

If you could count a castle, a home.

A castle on Serpent Island, in the heart of the Sea of Peace. A fabled place, shrouded in mystery.

And a bloody past...

My mother, Queen Rosaline and my father, King Arcturus, ruled over the island for many years. Caring for its inhabitants, humans and serpentine alike.

But not just any old serpentine. The God Serpents.

Magnificent creatures, with astounding powers.

Venom that could do impossible feats.

Some with size almost parallel to the Great Devourer.

Though, peace never lasts.

The balance between good and evil is always shifting.

It's like a tower of cards, one problem and the tower comes crashing down. Then you must strive to set the tower right, which may be harder than when you first fixed it.

I've seen how the balance can shift in both ways.

From evil to good, Garmadon having all the darkness taken away, thanks to Lloyd.

And my brother, Devon. From good to evil…

Through a fit of rage, because he was not chosen as heir to the throne of the island, he bit himself, and his unique venom. Venom with the ability to turn the purest of hearts, wicked.

He succumb to the evil that clouded his mind, he killed our mother and went on to attempt to kill me and Thornia, my younger sister.

All to claim the throne for himself...

But I had fought him off. It was a tough battle, during which I had been injured; pinned to a tree with daggers through my shoulders, blood pouring from the deep wounds that ran all the way through the front and out the back.

Once I had broken free of the lacerating objects, I had plunged a dagger into Devon's chest and knocked him off a cliff into freezing waters that thrashed below.

His scream when the blade had entered his chest had never erased from my memory.

Time has progressed, and all that had happened is in the past.

But the past always had a way to catch up to you.

And I could never avoid my past, sometime, someday, all the secrets that I have kept hidden will come flowing out.

Who knows what will happen then…?


	2. Chapter 2

**I recently found out that Arcturus is an Anacondrai general (Season 4!). In this story Arcturus is a human, as is Devon and Thornia.**

**Serpent Island is inhabited by humans and serpentine.**

**Just clearing that up for people who may have been a bit confused.**

**Cole's POV**

**(Flashback)**

I tried to find a way out. The daggers that had been plunged through each shoulder ate into my concentration, blurring everything into an indiscernible mess. I looked past Devon; my brother… Whom I had lost to the darkness of the devourer venom, to the huge expanse of the sea that stretched out for miles on end.

I had heard about other islands on the ocean, but it seems as though I wouldn't even make it through the night.

I wrestled with the daggers, biting my lip to prevent myself from screaming. The blade twisted and cut a wider gash into my shoulder as I tried to pry it out. Devon was still talking, not paying attention to my vain attempts to get free from the blades. "I will not allow… you, to take my chance away from me again-" His speech was cut short, the dagger came out of my blood drenched arm with a sickening ripping noise. I lunged at my brother and stabbed the blade into his chest. He screamed, the noise pierced the night.

Reaching over to my right side, I pulled the second dagger out and reached for my scythe that was lain on the floor not far from where I stood.

I turned swiftly around and struck my brother in the stomach with the flat of the weapon. He stumbled back towards the cliff, and went over the edge.

His screams of rage faded as he fell towards the icy cold, unforgiving sea.

I stepped back from the cliff as my eyes watered.

I hadn't wanted to do it, but he had left me with no choice...

**(Present)**

Kai was clicking his finger under my nose, trying to get me back to reality.

"Cole, you there?" He said.

I shook myself out of my past. "Oh… uh, yeah. What is it?"

Kai looked at me incredulously, "What were you thinking about?"

I looked down to the floor, "Nothing much." I said with a small smile, attempting to get Kai to stop interrogating me about something that was none of his business.

Kai sighed as I shut down the conversation. He went back to messing around with his newly acquired fire powers.

Once the Overlord had been defeated in the final battle, Lloyd decided that he wanted to split his golden power between the team. I gained my element of Earth, Zane gained the element of Ice, Jay got lightning and Kai got Fire.

Since then, we have been using our elements to the best of our abilities. Even if we messed around with them from time to time.

Who wouldn't?

But that wasn't the biggest problem I had.

In the final battle, where Garmadon had been freed of the Devourer venom, had got me thinking.

If Devon hadn't died, could Lloyd's golden power also have saved him?

I sighed as I walked to the exit of Garmadon's monastery, which doubled as our temporary base.

Leaving through the front door, I needed some time to myself.

Walking for a few minutes I came to the edge of the forest that bordered the monastery. Traveling through the dense woodland, I came to a clearing, which ended with a steep drop to the ocean below.

It looked so much like the place I had fought my brother.

And lost him…

That night, I had left the island behind. I took an old wooden boat from the docks and made my way away from what had happened.

At the time, I hadn't cared about what I found on the open ocean, I had never left Serpent Island before. I never knew what new place I would find.

But I had kept rowing.

After rowing for the entire night, the burning glare of Serpent Island had long since faded into the distance. I came across the island of Ninjago.

It was an amazing place full of things I had never seen before.

I found a small town, each home had a warm embrace of a fire that kept the cool chill of the weather at bay.

I found out that this place was called Jamanakai village. I stayed around that village for a while, everyone was welcoming.

I got a few strange glances, but to be honest, I was a young boy walking around in tattered, burnt, black clothes. So a few second looks were to be expected.

I smiled at the memory, I had barely been in Ninjago for a few days before I found Sensei Wu, or he found me.

**(Flashback)**

Near Jamanakai village, there was a huge mountain. Nothing like anything on Serpent Island. It was so steep, and had many vertical inclines that would challenge the most skilled of climbers.

And it could probably challenge me. Probably.

In fact, there was a few people climbing the mountain, they were about half way up, and kitted out with good quality climbing gear.

But I was never one for ropes and harnesses.

So I just started climbing.

I didn't even hesitate when it came to a new handhold or foothold. I had scaled half of the mountain before the climbing group had even reached the top.

They seemed to be struggling on a fairly steep incline.

But I didn't slow down.

I climbed easily past the group as they gaped at my bravery and stupidity for climbing without ropes, but I could tell that they were in awe of the speed at which I completed that tricky part of the climb.

I didn't pay attention though, I just focused on which route I would take next.

And eventually, I reached the near peak of the mountain.

I jumped up with relief of the temporary rest, "Ha ha!" I said with triumph.

Then to my amazement, an elderly man sat on the ledge as well.

He wore a cone straw hat and a white robe that I could only assume was to indicate that he was a ninja of some kind.

He was drinking tea from a small blue cup, beside him sat a blue china tea pot to go with the cup and a bowl of sugar.

"Hello Nicolas." He said in a wise voice.

I was taken aback by his immediate knowledge of who I was.

"Uh, I don't suppose I know you…" I answered slightly dumbly.

"No, no. You don't know me, but I know you. Heir to the throne of Serpent Island, I hear. Well done." He said in a comforting voice.

Though I was anything but comforted.

"I no longer live on that island." I stated honestly.

He gave me a forlorn look, "News does not travel fast enough these days, tell me what happened."

I gave in to his calming tone and let the story come flooding out.

The more I spoke, the quieter my voice got, until it was barely audible.

I started to explain how my brother died, but my voice caught in my throat.

I sighed, wiping away a stray tear that streaked my cheek. "But I have moved on, that is all in the past, I have to look to the future."

A sombre smile flashed across the elderly man's face. "Spoken very wisely. But to the point of this meeting: I am Sensei Wu, and I am forming a team of ninjas to fight against my brother, Lord Garmadon. And I would like you, Nicolas BrookStone, to be the first member of my team."

I thought for a moment.

Me, a ninja?

That was a crazy idea.

But what else could I do?

I had no home, no family…

This Sensei Wu seemed to know me, and I was sure I had heard of him before.

I came to a decision, "I will join the team, on one condition."

The Sensei stood up and brushed off his gi, "And what would that be?"

"Please don't call me Nicolas."

He looked to me, "What name would you prefer?"

I thought for a moment, "Cole?"

"It suits you, Cole." He said with a sincere smile.

I stepped to the edge of the rocky outcrop, I pulled off my torn robes that was the last link to my family, and threw it off the side of the mountain.

I would move forward from now on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Who has seen Ninjago Season 4? I have and I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say that in my opinion it is one of the best series so far!**

**Anyway, hope you are enjoying the story!**

**Cole's POV**

**(Present)**

I came out of my memories with a shallow sigh, this was a place I could truly be alone, because whenever I relived that moment that is how I felt.

I walked slowly to a nearby tree, placed my back on it and slid down into a sitting position.

Placing my head onto my knees and sucked in a heavy breath.

I had never told anyone about my past, except Sensei Wu. And it hurt, a lot.

But I can't tell them, who knew how they would react?

Jay would probably ask a ton of questions.

Zane would stay quiet and listen.

Kai would most likely stare in shock.

And Lloyd would… do something, I'm not sure what he would do.

But whatever would happen, it would lead to me telling them all about my past.

And I just can't do that…

Not yet.

There was a time for everything.

It was very calm here, but that didn't last.

"Cole, you at here?" Came a loud and curious voice.

The green ninja poked his head through the trees to my right.

"What are you doing here?" Lloyd asked.

Trying to be alone with my thoughts.

"Just watching the view." I lied, gesturing to the rising sun as its warm light bled over the horizon.

"Has something been bothering you?" He questioned.

_Yes. Something has._

"No, why do you ask?" I said with a fake expression of bewilderment.

"You were daydreaming a load before you went on this walk." Lloyd noticed, he sat down next to me.

Was it really that obvious?

"Well, it's nothing much, just tired I guess." Which was part truth.

"Were all tired, the final battle with the Overlord was exhausting." Lloyd gave a smile.

I laughed, "You may be tired, and I was too busy being under the influence of the Overlord to pay much attention."

I got up off the ground and brushed the stray bits of dirt from my gi. I walked back towards the monastery without another word, Lloyd followed suit.

When we walked through the front door, the monastery was anything but peaceful and calm.

"What's happening?" I asked Jay as he ran past to get his nunchucks.

He looked around to me with a half frantic half excited look.

"There is finally something to do!" He said as he ran off to get ready for whatever was happening.

I blocked Kai's path as he walked past. "And I say again, what is happening?"

Kai stopped his walk and turned fully to me and Lloyd. "There are reports of a madman attacking Jamanakai village." He said as he pulled his hood over his head and waited for the rest of the team.

A madman?

Just like my brother had been...


	4. Chapter 4

**Cole's POV**

We wasted no time in getting to Jamanakai village.

Well, unless you count the amount of times we had to go between rooms to find our weapons, then Jay had put his ninja garb on backwards and that took a while to figure out because Jay wouldn't stop laughing, and that made Lloyd laugh, then Kai started laughing.

And that just made Jay's laughing fit worse.

I swear that half of the time I was looking out for little kids…

But, after long last, we finally got ourselves sorted and we were making our way towards the small settlement that sat on the side of a mountain.

It was a resided village, not many people visited, not many people left. It was a place where everyone knew everyone and you would grow up in a calming environment surrounded by safety and under no immediate threat from enemies.

Or so I though…

The small town was in chaos.

Buildings were on fire, people were running around with buckets, trying in vain to quench the flames that ate at the quaint buildings that sat in close huddles around the town.

When one fire started, it would jump from building to building, nothing would stand in its way.

My brothers and I stared in shock at the scene that was unfolding before us.

No time to gape!

"Zane, go and get the fires under control. Jay, calm the people down and get them to a safe distance. Kai, Lloyd, you're with me, we find the madman and take him down." I gave my commands and the team reacted immediately, they respected my judgement.

We went off in our different directions to complete our objectives.

Lloyd, Kai and myself ran around the town. Searching in back alleys. Leaving no stone unturned.

"Anything?" I asked as the small group re-joined.

"Nothing at all." Kai answered, sweat dripped from his forehead.

"It's as if there was never anyone here, no tracks leaving the town, no unusual people hanging just out of eyesight." Lloyd deduced.

I turned in a full circle.

The fires had been brought under control, and a layer of frost had spread over the burnt black buildings, no doubt thanks to Zane.

All the people had cleared out of the town and I could see the blue figure of Jay sprinting towards our group, his objective now complete.

"Well?!" Jay shouted to the group. "Found the madman?!"

"No madman here, Jay. Maybe it was just a false alarm?" Lloyd shouted back.

But how wrong was he…

The loud clang of metal against metal rung out from in the depths of the trees.

We turned to each other. "Did you hear that?" Jay asked as he joined the group.

We all nodded, and ran into the woods.

The clashes of metal got louder and louder as we got closer and closer.

And as we entered a small clearing in the dense forest, two figures came into view.

One held a sword that seemed to be formed out of shadow, it was so black. The person was adorn in familiar purple robes, held together with threads of gold that reflected the light of the peaking sun, and a hood to cover the face.

The other person was a bit smaller than myself, a girl. A shock of jet black hair framed her face and fell onto her shoulders, her grey eyes were a nice compliment to the fierce look she wore.

It would take guts to meet her eyes.

She held a silver knife, nothing compared to the huge sword her enemy held.

"Stop this!" She shouted, pointing her knife at the opposition. "You've done enough, here. Leave. Now!" Her voice held authority.

She tugged at a memory that I had abandoned years ago.

She looked so much like my sister; Thornia.

Almost identical…

Like she was the same person...

I stepped forward, out of our weak excuse for cover that was known as a bush.

Kai made a grab for me. "Cole, get back here!" He whispered angrily.

I ignored him and kept walking until I was in full view of the two competitors.

My scythe was in my hand.

But I did not intend to use it.

I turned to the girl as she stared intently at myself.

"Thorn?" I questioned with slight hope and dread in my voice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Cole's POV**

The young girl's eyes softened slightly as she spoke a word that seemed almost foreign to her lips. "Nicolas?"

Her mouth turned up in a slight smile.

But her blade was still aimed at the unnamed stranger.

"It's been a long while." She sighed.

I returned her smile, "Way to long."

The person in the purple robe spoke up in a gravely, unused voice. "Are your festivities over? Have you quite finished with the petty talk?"

I shot him a sharp look, "You're the madman that was attacking the village. Your… you…"

I could see his smirk widen under his hood, "Spit out my name! Or have you forgotten it?"

I lifted my scythe and pointed it under his throat. "I've forgotten." I spat, not wishing to repeat his name.

"Well, for what it's worth, what a lovely family reunion this is." He gave a mock bow in my direction. "King Nicolas, I hope you are doing well." He grimaced, pouring hate into his words.

Thorn gave me a sad look. She hadn't known what happened on the island. How I thought I had killed Devon. When I had returned to my grandmother's house, it had been in flames and I had searched for ages looking in vain for my remaining family.

When I had found nothing, I had thought that my sister and grandmother were dead, lost to the fire.

Then I had left the island.

I stepped forwards and pressed my scythe into his chest, "Devon, don't make me kill you again."

He pulled his hood down, revealing skin, once a tanned olive shade, faded to an ashen grey. His eyes shone with the color of blood and pure evil, his hair was a wild black mess.

"You should have checked that I had died the first time." He lunged forwards, his sword raised in a deadly arch.

Thornia dived from the side and tackled him down, making Devon drop his sword.

"I'd recommend leaving now Nicolas! Dev looks ready to kill you!" Thorn shouted as she held Devon on the floor, giving me and the team a chance to get away.

"I know we'll meet again Nic, but now you need to leave." Commanded Thorn.

It turned back towards my team as they stood from behind the bush.

"What's happening?" Jay shouted as he looked at Thorn and Dev fighting for possession over the weapons that had been thrown to the floor beside them.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to run." I said as I made my way back through the forest towards Jamanakai village.

"Were going to run!" Lloyd said as he look back over his shoulder as he ran next to me.

"Dev would kill you guys without a second thought." I answered as I put more distance between me and my siblings.

"Who's Dev? Who's Thorn? What just happened?" Jay ranted, as usual.

I just ignored them, too much had just happened and too much was on my mind…

And I stayed quiet until we reached the monastery.

It was a couple hours later. The buzz had died down from the previous encounter with my siblings but Jay hadn't stopped asking questions.

"Who are they? How do you know them? Why did he call you king? I didn't know you had siblings, did you tell anyone? Is this a secret?" He rambled on until I clamped his mouth shut with my gloved hand.

"Jay, please shut up." I said as I dropped my hand.

That didn't deter him though. "When will you explain what happened?" He whined.

"Soon. We have to wait for someone first." I said as I looked out one of the monastery's windows.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello readers! I have a new poll on my profile, it's about what story I'm going to write next. The more people that vote on it, the better idea I can get about what you want to read!**

**Lloyd's POV **

Since the meeting of the two people in the woods, Cole had been acting different.

On edge.

Whenever we had questioned him about what had happened he immediately shut the conversation down.

He just stood looking out of one of the windows that was situated in the training room of the monastery.

Still, unmoving. His scythe still tightly in his grip, his knuckles going white with effort.

Anyone who had knew Cole for as long as I had, knew that he was deep in thought. He did it a lot before a fight. It helped him compose his thoughts, clear his mind.

But now he seemed… different.

His brow creased differently and his eyes was set on the horizon that the window revealed.

I walked slowly up to him, maybe I could get some information out of him about what had happened.

"Cole?" I said from behind him.

Cole jumped. He actually jumped! I had never even seen him flinch.

"Yes? What is it, Lloyd?" He asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Are you okay? I questioned, looking up at him.

He looked down at me, his eyes wavering under my stare.

"I'm fine." He whispered, turning away.

That ended the conversation…

I walked away from Cole, leaving him alone.

Entering the dining hall, I found the rest of the team sat quietly around the table.

All eyes turned to me when I entered.

"Anything?" Kai asked, meaning 'Did I get anything from Cole?'

"No, nothing, he's acting weird." I admitted as I pulled a chair up to the table.

I turned to Uncle Wu who sat at the head of the table.

"Do you know what's wrong?" I asked.

Sensei Wu heft a big sigh and set his eyes on every member of the group individually.

"Everyone has their secrets, it is not for me to tell." Sensei Wu said.

"So you do know something!" Jay shouted from the other side of the table.

Kai shot Jay a look and he piped down.

Silence settled around the table.

Broken by a frantic knocking at the door.

"I'll get it!" Came the dishevelled voice of Cole as he finally left his post for the first time in a few hours.

Next came the noise of the door being flung open and the sound of shuffling feet.

Then a thump, as if someone had hit the floor?...

Then Cole ran into the room with a limp form held in his arms.

His voice caught in his throat, "Guys, help. There's blood…"


End file.
